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All Roker joke, over the line?
Wed, 08/01/2007 - 11:05Topic: Advocate for Epilepsy
I have been a little under the weather lately due to med changes, so i just heard this. I just came across an article about Al Roker of the Today Show (07/07/07). It said he made an epileptic joke regarding a story about the new Olympic logo. I am not sure if links are allowed here but here it goes.
http://newsbusters.org/node/13425
If the link get deleted google "roker joke" it should come up top of page.
IMHO i feel it you are epileptic it is OK to tell epileptic jokes amongst fiends. It relieves the tension. Other people do not have to be worried about being PC (I.E. "i didn't get any sleep last night, my baby was throwing a fit".)
Was Al out of line? Am i out line?
Comments
I actually think it was
Submitted by SunflowerPower on Wed, 2007-08-01 - 17:35
I actually think it was funny. I have a hard time finding anything offensive about it.
Suppose he had said, "for those of you who were actually able to get your heart beating again and log on after that heart stopping news..."
Do you think people who have had heart attacks or heart failure would be offended? I doubt it.
Actually, the only thing that I find remotely offensive is the very end of the article that says, "I guess Media Matters doesn't care about handicapped people."
Since when are people who have epilepsy considered handicapped? Disabled maybe, but I think handicapped people get special parking spots. Then again, most people with E can't drive anyway.
BTW, I was joking about the parking spots in case it wasn't obvious enough.
Re: All Roker joke, over the line?
Submitted by NoEsFacil on Wed, 2007-08-01 - 20:02
Funny to started this thread. I was watching that day and I was in the middle of typing a lovely email to Ann Currey about how impressed I was with her story about the Epileptic teen who was being bullied. Then all of a sudden, they show the whole story with the olympic logo. I was taken aback. How could they show such empathy in one story and then totally disregard the same in an off the cuff comment? I didn't find it amuzing.
I'm Molly's Mom and Proud of It!
I don't know. Al is usually
Submitted by itsmyeviltwin on Wed, 2007-08-01 - 12:58
I don't know. Al is usually a very sweet sensitive guy (altho humorous) and I have a hard time believing he meant any disrespect. For comparison: I used to use the phrase 'throw a fit' all the time and never meant seizure or E at all...to me it meant 'tantrum' but now someone would accuse me of a non PC slur..(and I have E..so in this circle it would be OK for me to say that)! Ya, I think some folks can poke fun a bit too much at others, IF they're not in on the joke and laughing WITH them. Was he doing that? whats everybody else think.